


to dance

by lester_sheehan



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Evil Charming - Freeform, F/M, Outlaw Queen - Freeform, Snow Queen - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-01
Updated: 2015-10-01
Packaged: 2018-04-24 06:42:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4909243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lester_sheehan/pseuds/lester_sheehan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A Queen that can't dance. A whole lot of insults. And finally, a genuine smile. </p><p> Outlaw Queen. Evil Charming.</p>
            </blockquote>





	to dance

She’d been thinking about it for hours. Pacing her current bedchamber, tying her hair up and then letting it loose, heaving a frustrated sigh every now and again. 

They were all expecting her to go, and how could she not? She couldn’t very well stay locked up all night, safe in the darkness of her room, attempting to ignore the music and distant chime of laughter. There was barely a choice to be made.

A knock sounds at her door, Snow’s voice echoing through the hollow wood. “Regina, we’re all ready. Are you coming?”

She stops in her tracks, locking the door with a flick of her wrist. “Go without me. I’ll be down soon.”

“Are you sure?”

“Just go, Snow. I’m sure Charming’s already lost without you.”

There’s a faint huff, but Regina’s sure Snow’s smiling- she can hear it like a bird’s song ringing through the air- and then the footsteps begin to move away. 

With a knot in her stomach and a sickening feeling in her chest, she lowers herself onto a chair, facing the vanity mirror. She grimaces at the sight: weary, tired, worried. It angers her to think that something so simple had affected her so much, that she’d let it creep into her mind and tarnish the edges. Settle into the fissures. Crawl beneath her skin. 

There’s another knock at the door. “Take a hint, Snow,” she says, with more malice this time. 

A low, resonating chuckle fills the room. “Not quite,” David says.

Perhaps Snow would be the lesser of two evils. “And how can I help you?” The words are coated in false sweetness, taunting him, daring him to come in. 

He falls silent for a moment, and when he speaks again, it’s softer and layered with a gentle wariness he doesn’t usually adopt- at least, not with her. “Maybe it’s not me who needs the assistance.” 

She scoffs, rising, and as she strides towards the door, she forgets for a moment about her nerves, can focus on nothing more than David’s indignation. As she swings it open, a swarm of insults on her tongue, she finds herself falling short. 

David’s arms are crossed, an eyebrow raised, and he’s staring at her so placidly that it takes her aback. She makes an effort to close her mouth. “What?” she says, immediately defensive.

“Can I come in?”

“No.”

“Regina-”

“David.”

He sighs dramatically, arms raised at his sides. She _almost_ smiles.

When their eyes meet again, he tilts his head and motions towards the room. She steps aside. “Going somewhere special?” she says, eyeing his Camelot clothing, moving to lean her back against the window. 

“Nowhere you’d know, apparently." She averts her eyes, not exactly keen to approach the topic. Not now, and not with him. “Robin’s already down there. Waiting for you, I presume.”

“Is that so?”

He stares at her hard before taking a few steps closer. “Snow says you were nervous- about the dance.”

“Oh, well if Snow says it, it must be true.” He frowns and she exhales loudly. “I didn’t tell her anything.”

“You didn’t need to.”

She looks at him pointedly. “Fine. Maybe I haven’t… been to one of these in a while.”

“Storybrooke doesn’t have much opportunity for balls,” he says, and she realises that for the first time, they can joke about these things. 

“I suppose it doesn’t,” she breathes. A moment passes, then: “If you must know, I’ve never participated in one.”

David’s eyes widen in disbelief, the seedling of a smirk beginning to grow. “You were the Queen. You hosted them.”

“I sat at the back and watched them,” she corrects. 

His smirk sinks like lead in water. Perhaps he doesn’t know her as well as he’d thought. Seeing her standing here, he thinks for a moment that there’s a lot more beneath her sharp words and permanent frown than he’d cared to see. “Let me help you,” he says, as if it’s as simple as that. 

She chuckles, runs her tongue along the inside of her lip. “Please tell me you’re joking.”

“Why not?” he says, raising his arms again. He smiles and teasingly bows before her, hand outstretched. She stares at it as though it could burst into flames at any moment. 

“I’m not exactly appropriately dressed,” she says, motioning to her blazer and straight trousers.

David narrows his eyes, hand still lingering. “I may not have liked your magic too much in the past, Regina, but I think that you can spare a little in this moment.”

She rolls her eyes and with a flick of her wrist, she’s dressed in the garments she’d found earlier in the closet; it seems that Camelot had been more than ready for their arrival. With her pantsuit exchanged for a dress akin to an ocean wave, she straightens her back and places one hand in David’s. “Better?” she says.

“Much.”

It’s awkward at first. She comes out with witty remarks- “Are you sure you know how to do this?” “Did you dance with Snow before or after she agreed to marry you?”- occasionally (and later on she’ll say, _accidentally_ ) piercing his foot with her heel, but he doesn’t let it faze him. 

“I’m doing you a favour here, you know. Most people would thank me.”

“I’ll thank you when I’m dead, Charming.”

“Hey, that’s something,” he grins. “We’re making progress.”

They continue like this for a while. The awkwardness disappears, and in the end she’s thankful for his help. She supposes that dealing with one smug prince beats embarrassing herself in front of many.

A knock sounds at the door, and Regina moves away from David so fast that one would think she’d been electrocuted. “Again?” she growls, stalking towards it. She hears David chuckle from behind.

As she recollects herself and tugs on the handle, shock clouds her features. “Robin?”

He stares at her vehemently, eyes full of awe. Stares at the way her hair is composed so neatly atop her head, at the loose strands that frame her face. At the way her dress makes her look ethereal, unworldly. “You look beautiful,” he whispers, and she only just catches it.

She clears her throat, breathes in deeply. “I was just coming down.”

Robin’s eyes flit behind her. David presses his lips together and nods in greeting. “I’m going to go find Snow,” he says, but not before his eyes catch Regina’s and he mouths, “You’ll be fine.” 

She only rolls her eyes in response.

Once they’re alone, Robin takes her hand in his and kisses it lightly. “We’ve been waiting for you.”

“I know.”

“Is everything alright?”

She smiles and places her other hand on his. “Everything’s fine. Let’s just go down, shall we?”

As they walk down the steps, Regina keeps her face like stone. She can feel everyone’s eyes on her, can almost hear their whispering. She has no doubt that her name’s been thrown around a few times, no doubt that they already know exactly who she is. As if sensing her thoughts, Robin squeezes her arm gently. “Don’t assume the worst,” he murmurs. 

“You’re right,” she deadpans, “maybe they’re just shocked to see me in something other than black,” but Robin doesn’t miss the way she swallows hard and her fingers tremble slightly.

He smiles softly and, meeting her eyes, says, “You underestimate your beauty, milady.” 

They reach the bottom and, with a slight scoff, Regina pulls Robin to the side of the room. For the first time in a long while, she’d rather hide out in the shadows. 

“I have to say, Regina, the fact that David, of all people, has had the pleasure of dancing with you before I… it’s a strange idea.”

She folds her arms and glances around the room. “I’d hardly say it was a pleasure.” She pauses, smirks. “Careful, Robin, you’re starting to sound a little jealous.” The words roll off her tongue like a drug. 

“If jealousy is what it takes to get you to dance with me, consider me so.”

She raises an eyebrow. “It would hurt less to have my heart ripped from my chest, than to ever have to dance with David again. There’s no premise- or reason- for me to have to move onto that floor.”

“Why don’t I test that for myself?” Robin holds out a hand and smiles teasingly. “Please?”

“I don’t-” Her eyes catch Snow’s from across the room. She’s biting her lip, trying her hardest to supress a grin, but once she realises that Regina’s watching, she flicks her hand and mouths, _Go._

Regina closes her eyes, a genuine smile spreading across her face. “Laugh at me and I may just have to kill you.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”


End file.
